Letter From Cobleskill: Spring 2022

As long-term investors, it is always helpful to remember that stock market downturns are part of the experience. I have been at Fenimore for 26 years and in every one of those years but one, the market had a decline of 5% or more at least once during the year. This is a normal part of stock investing and, while some uncertainty lies ahead, we see no reason for panic.

First, the current downturn started when our economy was in a position of great strength with consumer spending and corporate earnings at record highs. This is helping to cushion the fall. In addition, interest rates, while rising, are still low by historical standards.

At the same time, what reassures us the most about the days ahead is what our research analysts are hearing directly from the individual companies in which we invest. In recent months, we have met with dozens of businesses to discuss the health of their operations and their roadmaps to growth. While there are certainly challenges (global supply chain problems and elevated transportation prices will be with us the rest of the year), these executives are far from pessimistic.

They intend to grow, reinvest, make acquisitions, and return profits to shareholders in the form of stock buybacks and increased dividends — maybe not to the degree we thought possible three months ago, but certainly at what we consider healthy levels. Overall, these leaders reported that order backlogs are robust, business remains good, and profit margins, while down, are still expected to allow for growth-related activities. We are confident in the collection of businesses in our funds.

Fenimore continues to invest toward a return to “normal.” This means focusing on quality companies that meet our rigorous standards and have the ability, in our opinion, to weather the challenging times and excel when the environment is better. We have made slight adjustments in the funds with an eye on strengthening positions in well-managed, reasonably-priced businesses that may be experiencing short-term pressures, but that we believe should be stronger three years from now. Similarly, we reduced our stakes in companies whose prices peaked in our view and whose long-term prospects are not as favorable.

A DECADE OF DILIGENT MANAGEMENT

Fenimore is proud to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of our FAM Small Cap Fund (FAMFX). Our team is pleased with the performance we delivered for shareholders over that time while seeking to mitigate risk. Under the direction of Portfolio Managers Andrew Boord and Kevin Gioia, we pursue quality, solidly profitable, and sustainable small-cap companies with long-term growth potential. Congratulations to Andrew and Kevin and the entire investment research team! We also thank everyone who is invested in FAMFX and look forward to the next decade.

LET’S CONNECT

We value our personal connections with shareholders. You can reach us with any questions at 800-932-3271, through our website’s “Contact Us” section, or via info@fenimoreasset.com. Our team also welcomes you to meet with us in either our Albany or Cobleskill location or virtually.

Sincerely,
John D. Fox, CFA
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

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¹ FactSet, as of 3/18/2022

Volatility, Inflation, Interest Rates, & Supply Chain

Volatility

Fenimore believes volatility creates opportunity. While we would all like a long-term, never-down performance experience, the reality is that markets do fluctuate — they always have — and it is through those fluctuations that some of the best opportunities present themselves.

At Fenimore, we are staying the course and will:

1. Continue to evaluate the companies we own. While this is always happening at Fenimore, we consider these particularly important times to be assessing all aspects of our investments, and whether there are other opportunities that we can take advantage of at this time. As we like to avoid overpaying for the companies we invest in, we seek to find great value in buying during times of market stress.
2. Work with our clients to do the same and to think about these as opportune times to add capital to their accounts — to invest more at a time when prices are a bit lower. Over the long term, this should make a significant difference in the overall return and growth of their savings.
   

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Inflation & Interest Rates

Over a prolonged period,^[1] multiple decades, interest rates have remained low. While interest rates are up off the bottom, they are still very low by historical standards. These low rates typically support high valuations for financial assets like stocks and real estate.

Will they rise? Will inflation be permanent at a high level forcing interest rates to go up? These are questions that we ask ourselves frequently. Although we have no crystal ball to predict the level of inflation and interest rates, the recent headline inflation figure of 7% was elevated by several factors that may not reoccur:

• The base-rate effect — 2021 prices were relative to 2020 levels when the economy was shut down
• A rebound in energy prices that should not repeat to the same magnitude
• Increases in new and used car prices driven by a shortage of semiconductors that is limiting the ability to build new cars
• The mismatch of huge stimulus created demand coinciding with a virus constrained supply chain

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the average change in prices over time paid by consumers for a basket of goods and services. The CPI chart below illustrates the 5 key categories that account for the 7% increase in inflation, with gasoline and vehicle prices representing more than 50% of the increase as of December 2021.^[2]

As the aforementioned factors show a reduced impact, we would expect headline inflation readings to soften. On the other hand, we must acknowledge that not all factors impacting inflation figures will reverse. Higher wages, living expenses, and increased prices for value-added goods and services may be here to stay.       

Supply Chain

Supply chain factors should get resolved over time. Corporate management teams are reacting to the challenging environment — manufacturing locations are being reconsidered, capacity is being increased, and new sources of supply are being uncovered. In addition, pandemic-driven bottlenecks should unwind as businesses continue to adapt to today’s operating environment. Over time, as supply rebalances, inflationary pressures from the supply chain should ease.

The bond market seems to know all this, which is why forward-looking prices in the bond market have the inflation rate over the next 10 years estimated at about 2.5%.^[3]  We will continue to monitor these market-based expectations closely.

Fenimore’s View

At Fenimore, we consider ourselves as your trusted investor. Our active investment approach since 1974 has helped us navigate multiple economic and financial market cycles. This proprietary, research-intensive process reinforces active oversight and incorporates:

• Creating and maintaining detailed models for each company we follow
• Analyzing financial statements
• Meeting with management and participating in quarterly conference calls
• Speaking with suppliers, customers, and competitors
• Monitoring the potential business impact of macroeconomic events
• Sifting our investment ideas through four investment criteria filters: Quality Business, Financially Durable, Proven Management, Margin of Safety

In our experience, this proactive process helps us manage risk, especially during downturns, and can be one of the better ways to potentially grow wealth over the long term and outpace inflation. Our investment research team will continue to be active and take the long view and look for opportunities to invest more in what we believe are quality businesses — both among our current holdings and in enterprises we’ve admired and desired to own but were too richly priced for us.

We can never know the future, but our team knows our holdings — both the businesses and the management teams. This gives us the confidence we need to execute Fenimore’s long-term strategy: buying stock in what we deem to be quality businesses that meet our rigorous standards and are ideally positioned to do well in good times and persevere through adversity.

What Should Investors Do?

As advisors well know, the key is to have a comprehensive, understandable, long-term investment plan that can serve as a foundation — it is hard to stay the course if you do not know the course.

The better you understand what you are invested in and why, the more confidence you have in your investments. Fenimore’s distinctive, firsthand knowledge of the companies behind your investments is crucial and helps to maintain a long-term focus regardless of any stock market, economic, or geopolitical uncertainty.

Fenimore Asset Management: Fenimore, manager of the FAM Funds, has been providing differentiated investment management solutions for nearly five decades. Learn more about our unique history and how we partner. Call 800-721-5391.

[1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DGS10

[2] https://www.bls.gov/cpi/tables/supplemental-files/home.htm

[3] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/T10YIE